


Dysphoria, Dumbass boyfriends, and Dinosaur chicken nuggies

by Boff_Puds



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Fluff, Gender Dysphoria, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sokka will let no one belittle his boyfriend, Trans Zuko (Avatar), Unhealthy Binding, and that includes his boyfriend, blanket burrito
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25637662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boff_Puds/pseuds/Boff_Puds
Summary: the title says it all folks.(content warning - gender dysphoria and unhealthy binding)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 294





	Dysphoria, Dumbass boyfriends, and Dinosaur chicken nuggies

Zuko felt numb.

it had been about 20 minutes of him just staring at himself in the mirror. the longer he sat there, the worse he felt.

he hadn't taken his binder off in three days. there were angry red lines around the edges of the tight fabric and it hurt when he breathed, but at least he looked more like himself. it hurt more to take it off than to keep it on.

his eyes scanned the outline of his body..

too many curves.

he looked like a girl.

Zuko looked at his face..

too soft.

he looked like a girl.

every inch of who he saw in that mirror was not him.

"Zuko?"

_shit._

Zuko heard footsteps from outside the bathroom and he ripped his eyes away from his reflection. the door slowly swung open to reveal Sokka. he leaned against the doorframe rubbing his eyes at the bright light. when his hands dropped from his face, his expression softened with concern. "are you okay?" his hands raised again to cup Zuko's cheeks, a pale thumb brushing away his tears. he hadn't even realized he was crying. Zuko melted into the touch.

"i'm fine.." 

"no you're not, you dork" the taller man pressed Zuko into his chest. "you can talk to me."

"idz sdootid" he said, burying his face in Sokka's shoulder.

"in English please." he pulled Zuko's face out from where it had disappeared in his hoodie but his eyes remained fixed to that spot.

"...it's stupid," he half-whispered.

Sokka groaned, "okay how many times have we had this conversation? you've given it to me plenty of times before. if it's making you this upset, then it's not stupid." he pulled him close again, the arms that snaked around his back told him that Zuko was listening, "you can talk to me. I'll always be here, okay? and i'll never tell you that you have no reason to be upset, because i know you would never do that to me."

there were a few moments of silence.

"I just..." Zuko turned his head to face the mirror, "every time I look at myself i see a girl. every time I think i've made progress or that i actually pass, that fucking mirror throws it back in my face."

suddenly Sokka bent forward and grabbed Zuko's lower thighs, right above the cavity behind his knees. Zuko yelped in surprise and clung tighter to his shoulders. Sokka hoisted him off of his feet so that Zuko was straddling him. Sokka had no trouble picking his protesting boyfriend up, walking into their living room and depositing him on the couch.

he stared down at Zuko with his eyebrows knit together, "I will not tolerate you belittling my boyfriend like that, sir. he is a boy. I fell in love with him because he is Zuko. he's kind and smart and adorable and strong. no part of my attraction to him is in any way relevant to his biological sex. he is an amazing person and I love him for being who he is. to call him a girl is both disrespectful to him and to me, as his boyfriend. if I hear you talking bad about him again, I will personally find you and kiss you until you come to your senses." Sokka leaned down to press his lips to Zuko's

he then pulled at the edges of one of the blankets he had landed on, rolling him into a burrito.

"get off me, you himbo!" he smothered Zuko's protests with a bear hug.

Zuko wheezed in pain and Sokka got off immediately. "wh-" he pulled back the blanket and looked closer at Zuko's chest. his binder was nearly cutting into his skin.

Zuko couldn't meet his boyfriend's gaze.

"how long have you been wearing this?" there was a sharp concern in his tone.

"Zuko?" Sokka tilted his head to meet his eyes

"how long have you been wearing this?" he repeated.

"...three days"

"Zuko! baby, you can't do that!" Sokka got off of him completely, pulling Zuko with him. he tugged them both into their room and started rooting around in their closet for a shirt and a sports bra. having found what he was looking for, he turned around to hand them to Zuko. "you shouldn't be binding for more than eight hours, much less three days!"

his eyes were getting watery again. "I know.."

at Zuko's expression, Sokka wrapped him in a tender hug, "I'm not mad at you, baby. I just can't let you hurt yourself like this. you mean too much to me to just let this go."

"I know."

* * *

an hour later, Zuko was sitting curled up next to his boyfriend. they were wrapped in a blanket burrito, eating dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggies, and watching Finding Nemo. Zuko had changed out of his binder and into a sports bra and one of Sokka's sweatshirts. Sokka made him swear to stop binding for longer than eight hours. they drifted off to sleep, curled around one another and savoring each other's warmth.


End file.
